Who is Lisa Desort? Mother of Azsia Johnson, 'executed' while with her baby says 'city failed her'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: The mother of Azsia Johnson, a 20-year-old woman who was shot dead while strolling her child, has spoken up. The devastated mother accused the "city" of failing her daughter. Lisa Desort said, “The city failed my daughter because, on January 1, my daughter called me and said she was being abused while she was six months pregnant. She was scared to call the police so she gave me the address. I called the police.”
The mother said cops went for the welfare check and ensured that she was fine but they failed to find the man who was allegedly abusing her. "That man is different from the father of the infant Johnson was strolling when she died," NBC New York reported.
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On Wednesday night, June 29, Johnson was reportedly walking with her three-month-old baby on Manhattan’s Upper East Side when a gunman shot her head at point-blank range. She was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead. A ten-year-old child, who was near the place where the incident happened, said she first thought the sound was of a firework. “But then I realized there was a gunshot and it really frightened me because I was right there at the park playing and I never would have thought this would have happened,” she added.
After the January 1 incident, the victim reportedly shifted with her mother but later went on to live in a domestic violence shelter. Johnson’s mother said, “She worked to the end of her pregnancy. She was on maternity leave with this baby. He kept harassing her and threatening my life and my younger daughter's life. I tried to protect my daughter in every way. She had to leave my house, she couldn't live there because he knew where I lived. I kept telling her, 'He's no good.’”
The victim’s heartbroken mother also claimed that she was worried something bad could happen to her daughter. NBC New York reported that as per Desort, “It is an unimaginable travesty for a woman who defied the odds.” She stated, “My daughter graduated high school with merits, with the inspiration of becoming a pediatric nurse. She had a child early and she was the most wonderful mother that you can imagine. She was hardworking. She worked every day. She's got more credit than a 30-40-year-old person has. She aspired to have houses and give her children the best of everything,” before adding, “My daughter was amazing.”
Desort also has a word for the killer, who she believes is Johnson’s ex. She said, “I treated you like a son. I welcomed you into my home. I spoke to you and calmed you down when you were upset. I fed you. Your baby girl does not, and no longer, will have a father or mother. Turn yourself in. This is what we have been telling you -- turn yourself in. Go to counseling. You didn't have to hurt my daughter. We could have been a family.”
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the tragedy as he said, “More guns in our city means more lives lost. It means more babies crying, as those who love them lie dead. These are real stories, real lives. When a woman is pushing a baby carriage down the block and is shot at point-blank range, it shows just how this national problem is impacting families. It doesn’t matter if you are on the Upper East Side or East New York, Brooklyn.”